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Our good friend Lucas Gaszewski has created the first Rackbuildder for the ribbons of Commonwealth countries on the Internet, including the Orders and Medals of Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. |  |
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A website fit for heroes: 14m first world war medals recorded online For the first time the full medal records of the 5.5 million British and Commonwealth soldiers who fought in the first world war are being made available to view online, comprising a total of 14m medals. Since almost every soldier who fought was awarded at least a campaign medal, the record is comprehensive. And because most of the first world war service records were destroyed during the second, the medals record is the most extensive archive of the conflict in existence. "Quite simply, this is the most complete first world war collection of what we are calling heroes' exploits," said Simon Harper, managing director of the genealogy website Ancestry.co.uk, which has digitised the archive. "There are other records already online which capture parts of the service record, but unfortunately a lot of records no longer survive, so to have a collection this complete is extremely important." Though other organisations, notably the National Archives at Kew, allow users to order specific microfiched records for a fee, this is the first time they can be browsed online. The records take the form of colour scans of handwritten cards, on which details of the medals awarded are recorded, along with soldiers' addresses, rank, regiment and details of their service history. The cards carry references to mentions in dispatches, where appropriate. More than 50,000 records include details of covert operations. Ancestry.co.uk/military guardian.co.uk 20 Feb 08 |
Table of Contents
Medals of Senior Military Officers (King's College London Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives)
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Victoria
Cross to be Auctioned (Cpl Samuel Meekosha received the VC for gallantry in the face of the enemy
near the River Yser in France on November 19, 1915) (Apr 01)
VC is
sold for £101,200 - Photo
- More
(Corporal Samuel Meekosha Nov 1915 serving with a
West Yorkshire Regiment platoon in France)
The Victoria Cross (Hancocks & Co - Manufacturer of the VC - Describes how the VC is made)
VCs & Awards (1st Battalion The Duke of Wellington's Regiment)
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Strange
journey of a Victoria Cross Victoria Cross No. 324 can be
found today in a vault at the Royal Green Jackets Museum in Winchester,
England. Like other specimens of the world's most famous military
decoration, the front of it bears just two words: "For
Valour." But if this one could talk, says Elizabeth Reid, its tale
would fill volumes. Ms. Reid, in a sense, is its voice. The B.C. woman
has spent 30 years researching the life and death of Timothy O'Hea, the
young Irish-born soldier who earned the award on June 9, 1866, for
extinguishing a fire that threatened to ignite a munitions car at a
train station in Danville, Que. It was the only Victoria Cross ever
given for a brave deed performed on Canadian soil and one of only
six bestowed for gallantry other than in direct battle with an enemy. O'Hea
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Edward Chapman, VC, has died aged 82 More (Awarded a VC as a corporal in the final stages of the North West Campaign in Germany
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Victorious Cross The passing of the last surviving Indian Victoria Cross winner, Umrao Singh, marked the end of an era. Vijay Mohan reports the heroic deeds of other Indian recipients of the award, cherished as an epitome of heroism and bravery. tribuneindia.com 12 Dec 05 |
An appeal to honour Victoria Cross heroes will be launched ... An appeal to honour Victoria Cross heroes is being launched. Cash is being raised for a paving slab in their memory at Westminster Abbey. The stone will lie below the tomb of the unknown soldier. Only 16 of the 1,354 heroes awarded the medal for extreme bravery in battle are still alive. The youngest is 69-year-old Australian Keith Payne. The last VCs to be awarded were posthumous to two Falklands heroes. The memorial will also honour the 400 holders of the George Cross, the highest bravery award in peacetime. A benevolent fund will be created to care for the graves of VC holders, whose medal was first awarded in the 1850s. Send cheques to: Victoria Cross & George Cross Memorial Appeal, Horse Guards, Whitehall, London SW1A 2AX. (Nov 02)
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Captain Richard Annand, VC On May 15 1940 during the Wehrmacht's lightning advance in Belgium on the River Dyle, Dick Annand, who has died aged 90, won the British army's first second world war Victoria Cross while a second lieutenant with 2nd Battalion, Durham Light Infantry. Image copyright John Attle who has informed us that Mrs Shirley Annand passed away on the 18th of January, 2006, aged 91. modoracle.com 17 Jan 05 |
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Queen honours heroes The Queen has paid special tribute to the civilian and military heroes who hold Britain's highest awards for bravery. She unveiled the first national memorial to holders of the Victoria and George Crosses at a service at Westminster Abbey in London. BBC News May 03 |
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Man receives medal on behalf of distant kin Relatives of deceased Victoria Cross recipients and the 21 living awardees were invited to Westminster Abbey for the unveiling of the special memorial. It honors the 1,354 recipients who were heroes during battle. James Munro, earned the medal in 1857 for his bravery and heroism during the Indian Mutiny to overthrow British rule in northern India. A color-sergeant in the British Army, Munro rescued his wounded captain in Lucknow, India. Munro was also badly wounded in the rescue. San Diego Union Tribune, CA - 16 May 2003 |
Old boys gather to honour VC hero Captain Archibald Bisset Smith was posthumously awarded Britain’s highest award for heroism for his conspicuous gallantry as the commander of an armed merchant ship in a First World War battle with a German warship in the mid-Atlantic in March, 1917. The Scotsman, UK - 14 Aug 2003
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Bell's bravery in attack earned VC Donald Bell, a mild-mannered but wonderfully gifted all-round sportsman, is the only professional footballer to have been awarded the Victoria Cross. Just five days after his outstanding act of bravery, at Horseshoe Trench near Contalmaison during the first week of the Battle of the Somme in July 1916, he died leading another recklessly brave assault on a key machine-gun post. Pictured here, alongside his Victoria Cross (No 478), is his helmet. Note the gaping holes - a mortar shell exploded nearby and his helmet took the full force. Although protecting his head, a jagged segment of the helmet splintered off and severed an artery in his shoulder causing him to die almost immediately. sport.telegraph.co.uk 30 Jul 04 |
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Gurkha Medal in London Auction A Victoria Cross has been auctioned for £132,250 ($243,711) by the family of a Nepalese Gurkha. The money, raised in an auction in London, will be given by the family of Honorary Captain Agansing Rai to help underprivileged children in Nepal. It is believed to be the first Victoria Cross awarded to a Gurkha to be sold. Mr Rai, who died four years ago, won the medal for his action against the Japanese in 1944. news.bbc.co.uk 22 Jul 04 |
Not Worth a VC? An SAS hero who killed 36 Iraqis to save the life of a stricken comrade could be denied a Victoria Cross - because he survived. The 36-year-old British soldier was recommended for the gallantry medal by his commanding officers after he single-handedly held off enemy attackers in a two-hour gun battle when his unit was ambushed. Despite being hit by shrapnel he then carried his shot and badly wounded colleague three miles to safety. But special forces officers fear the brave corporal will be snubbed for the highest military honour because they say senior officials usually do not not give it to survivors. THE CITATION: Whilst serving in Iraq as part of a joint special forces patrol with members of the Australian Special Air Service Regiment and US Rangers, Corporal ******* was dispatched with a number of the Australian SAS to carry out reconnaissance in an area of Baghdad occupied by large numbers of foreign enemy fighters involved in acts of terrorism within Iraq. During the reconnaissance, Corporal ******* and the Australian SAS soldier came under enemy engagement consisting of heavy gunfire, involving close quarters battle, over a period of two hours. During this time the Australian SAS soldier sustained life-threatening gunshot injuries and trauma. Corporal ****** gave immediate medical assistance. Whilst still under heavy attack from RPG and machine gun fire at close quarters, Corporal ****** engaged the enemy and continued to give medical assistance to the Australian SAS soldier. Corporal *******, whilst administering medical assistance, returned fire on the enemy and called in air strike. Corporal *******, killed some 36 enemy. Whilst fighting his way out of the area, he carried the injured Australian SAS soldier on his back for three miles, before being airlifted out of the area by helicopter. Corporal ****** during the engagement sustained shrapnel injuries requiring a period of medical treatment back in UK. Corporal *********'s actions showed the highest level of valour and gallantry in the face of overwhelming number of enemy and in the rescue of the Australian SAS soldier. It is recommended to her Majesty that Corporal ********* be awarded the Victoria Cross. mirror.co.uk 9 Sep 04
Victoria Cross for bravery in Afghanistan because of the strict rules governing the medal's award. One is believed to be under consideration for the award because of his leadership under fire as a complete Sabre squadron first pulled back and then overcame the al-Qa'eda terrorists. The second was at the other end of the complex, manning an observation post and waiting to bring down aerial strikes on escaping al-Qa'eda terrorists. He is under consideration because he waited so long before ordering in the air attack that he risked being killed himself. More - 18 VCs - (Feb 02)
SAS war heroes may be denied Victoria Cross - TWO members of the SAS may be denied the
SAS fights naming of heroes (A dispute has developed between the Government and the SAS over the award of gallantry medals to soldiers who fought in Afghanistan, and whether the recipients should be publicly identified) (Jan 02)
Bravery is kept secret (The courageous exploits of the SAS and the Royal Marines’ Special Boat Service in Afghanistan will remain a secret even if individuals are awarded gallantry medals. There have been exceptional examples of bravery under fire in Operation Veritas, the British codename for the counter-terror mission in Afghanistan.) (Jan 02)
Private honour (It says a great deal about the SAS that two of its members should even be considered for the Victoria Cross for gallantry in Afghanistan. The VC remains the highest military decoration in the world. Behind every simple littl
